Birth and Early Career
Leo Villa OBE was born in London to an Italian father and a Scottish mother amongst his early jobs was one working as a page boy at Romano’s restaurant on the Strand in London, a job he was fired from for throwing ink over the hall porter. A gifted artist Villa drew many pictures of an automotive nature and through his uncle he found employment as a riding mechanic with the Italian racing driver Giulio Foresti who held the British franchise for the Italia automobile. Between 1915 and 1922 Villa and Foresti were lucky to escape serious injury after a number of serious incidents when motor racing, however during preparations for the French Grand Prix at Strasbourg in which Foresti was to drive a French Ballot Villa’s luck ran out when he was seriously burnt when a generator exploded. After a period of convalescence in England Villa found himself on the shelf after Foresti had taken on another mechanic in Villa’s absence.
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